Jane Barrantes, Associate for Vice President for Auxiliary Services, receives the 2016-2017 Sustainability Champion award for Operations. Pictured with her is Chris Shay, interim Vice President for Finance & Administration.

Dr. Phyllis Brown, professor in the English Department, receives the 2016-2017 Sustainability Champion award for Academics for her work in educating about sustainability to her students and making her courses paperless.

The Sustainability Champion Awards are designed to recognize individuals and groups at SCU who go out of their way to transform the culture of sustainability on campus. We celebrate their hard work and honor their achievements by awarding them at this public ceremony.

Individuals or groups are nominated (by self-nomination or nomination by another) which includes a short description of why they should receive the award. Members of the Center for Sustainability vote on the nominees and select an award recipient who has transformed each of the following areas of campus:

Academics | This involves improvement and/or transformation for sustainability in curriculum, research, faculty resources, use of the campus as a living laboratory, or other academic programs.

Photo by Joanne Lee

Engagement | This involves events, programs, or initiatives that strengthen sustainable attitudes and behaviors on campus and/or with our community partners.

Operations | This involves project or program development that moves campus buildings, landscaping, energy, food & dining, purchasing, transportation, waste or water use towards more sustainable processes.

Past Winners

Sustainability Champion for Academics: Phyllis Brown, Faculty Phyllis was a participant in the first faculty-led workshop in 2007, called the Penstemon Project for integrating sustainability across the curriculum. Since then, she has encouraged her students to explore sustainability at SCU through course assignments. She has even developed a paperless course - a noteworthy feat for Critical Thinking and Writing! She is also a Faculty Sustainability Liaison for the english department.

Sustainability Champion for Engagement: Marianna Moore, Class of 2017Marianna is a student who has impact the lives of many. She has consistently been practicing sustainable behaviors since she stepped foot on the SCU campus: she rides a bike (or walks) almost everywhere, takes short showers, tries to not flush immediately to conserve water (which her nominator asked us not to mention), and has done most things to change her behavior in a sustainable way. Most importantly, she’s affected change by encouraging peers to engage in sustainable behavior: She’s worked with peers in SCCAP and LOCALS to reduce waste, compost, and recycle. She has been a huge influence on her residents in SLURP, on the 7th floor of Swig Hall. We appreciate all she’s done, especially that she’s participated in the Eco-Fashion & Art Show so many times!

Sustainability Champion for Operations: Jane Barrantes, Auxiliary ServicesJane has been a long-time supporter of campus sustainability. She has been a leader not only by encouraging her team to integrate sustainability into daily operations, but also by supporting innovation among her staff. I’d like to invite her colleague, Chris Shay, Assistant Vice President for University Operations and Interim Vice President of Finance and Administration up to the stage to say a few words in her honor. Thank you Jane, for all of your support!

Sustainability Champion for Innovation: rEvolve Tiny HouseStudents across the University collaborated over two years to design and built a net-zero energy house by incorporating renewable energy, green building techniques, and sustainable living. The team used our campus as a living laboratory to create a showcase of sustainable innovation. By building the house on campus and winning the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Tiny House Competition, they brought students' attention to sustainable building techniques. The team’s work will live on -- the rEvolve Tiny House was donated to Operation Freedom Paws, which pairs veterans with service dogs. The House will serve as temporary accommodations for out-of-town visitors -- from new clients being paired with a service dog to service dog trainers visiting to help lead classes.

Faculty: Ed Maurer, a Faculty Sustainability Liaison, involves the Civil Engineering department in sustainability related, local events such as creek clean-ups with the City of Santa Clara, rides his bike to work, and actively brings up new technology and ideas to the Center for Sustainability.

Staff: Julia Claire Landry, Director of Graduate Student Ministry, hosts graduate ministry events at the Forge and ensures that sustainability is woven into the programming or operations of the event. She also integrated Spirituality Facilitators into the Sustainability Liaison Network and is a second year Workplace Sustainability Liaison.

Student: Aaron Poor was the first ASG president (2015-16) to include sustainability in his platform, “community, sustainability, and snacks.” He always includes sustainability in conversation with student initiatives, especially off-campus. Aaron participates in Center for Sustainability programs and events, and volunteers with SCCAP’s Best Buddies program at the Forge Garden. Aaron also developed his own major to study sustainable business.

Group: The Food and Agribusiness Institute (FAI) provides students with an education in the functional areas of management with the application of modern business practices to food and agribusiness firms. FAI creates awareness among students with food-related events. This year, they have partnered with the Center for Sustainability to include the Forge Garden and other urban gardens or farms in their activities and research.

Collaborative Project: In November 2015, the Laudato Si Conference Planning Committee hosted a conference about Pope Francis’ Encyclical, “Our Future on a Shared Planet: Silicon Valley in Conversation with the Environmental Teachings of Pope Francis.” The two-day event attracted hundreds of students and community members, and featured speakers including Dr. Gretchen Daily, Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan, and San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo.

Sustainability Liaison: Justin Wojcik is a very active Workplace Sustainability Liaison who always makes an effort to never miss a liaison meeting and participates in various Center for Sustainability activities. He uses a personal compost pail, was instrumental in Loyola’s win of the Annual Energy Challenge, served as a panelist in the Eco-Fashion Show, and attends extra liaison events and field trips such as the Advanced Water Purification Center Tour in April.

Chad Raphael, professor in the Department of Communications, is part of the Faculty Liaison group pilot, has been a long-time supporter of sustainability and utilizes his communication classes to conduct campus-based projects related to sustainability, such as the latest Dialogue and Discourse to organize student discussion about the drought.

Staff:

Lindsay Sperling, adjunct lecturer in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, restructured the entire general chemistry lab sequence to emphasize green chemistry in the curriculum.

Students:

Sean Reilly, class of 2016 and environmental science major, has increased the visibility of GREEN Club through his leadership and involvement in Fossil Free SCU.

Group:

Transportation Services goes beyond their job description to exceed the needs and expectations of accessibility, mobility and sustainability; They are providing 24 EV charging stations (the most for any university), piloting the Zagster bike share program and won an honorable mention for the Clean Air Awards.

Collaborative Project:

GREEN Club and SCCAP’s B-LEJIT collaborated on Fossil Free SCU for its second year, and significantly elevated on-campus awareness about the climate crisis through persistent, creative, and positive activism.

Sustainability Liaison:

Koura Fabiny, Workplace Liaison for the Global Engagement Office, models a holistic commitment to sustainable living. She’s had perfect attendance to liaison meetings, attended sustainability-related event/field trips to learn more, and hosted a zero-waste vegetarian potluck for her department and office building. She frequently responds to the Center for Sustainability with questions from her peers and is always active in discussions with them.